Construction Worker Artist Hides Murals and Artwork in Walls of New Condos

Play Video

Two years ago, Pajtim Osmanaj, moved to New York from Kosovo after working toward a degree in fine art. To pay his bills, he took a job in construction laying tile. Earlier this year, he ended up at a job at 560 West 24th Street, a boutique condominium in West Chelsea near the High Line and turned the construction site into his canvas.

After hours and during lunch breaks, he painted intricate murals in the stairwells, crafted sculptures out of concrete, and transformed trash containers into artistic statements. Here, a mural of tortured faces drips from an exposed pipe.

A sculpture, crafted out of concrete, and inspired by his work as a tile mason.

As long as Mr. Osmanaj’s art didn’t hamper construction and was done on his own time, his bosses turned a blind eye to his extracurricular activities.

Here the artist leans against the wall of a master bathroom. Behind the tiles, lies a self-portrait, he helped tile over himself.

Much of Mr. Osmanaj’s work is self-referential, including a series of small portraits of his fellow construction workers, in dusty colors that he hung in a rotation in the elevator.

Here the artist regards one of his murals in a stairwell at the construction site.

Though Mr. Osmanaj didn’t know it, the eight-unit condominium at 560 West 24th, developed by Adam Gordon Holdings and Tavros Development Partners, was designed with serious art collectors in mind, from the reinforced living room walls to a ground floor art gallery — the same space where Mr. Osmanaj had decorated the walls with tortured faces and his moody self-portrait.

Now that construction is nearly complete, nearly all of Mr. Osmanaj’s art work has either been taken down or covered up, entombed within the walls of the development.

Student of the fine arts turned construction worker Pajtim Osmanaj has been hiding masterpieces within the walls of new condominiums under construction in the City.

To the bemusement and befuddlement of fellow workers, Mr. Osmanaj turned the construction site into his canvas. After hours and during lunch breaks, he painted intricate murals in the stairwells, crafted sculptures out of concrete and transformed trash containers into artistic statements. All but one of the paintings have since been removed or entombed within the walls of the development, now that the building is nearly complete.

Check out the accompanying article for more on Osmanaj and his hidden artwork.

via New York Times

art
artists
construction

Matt Coneybeare

Editor in Chief

Matt enjoys exploring the City's with his partner and son. He is an avid marathon runner, and spends most of his time eating, running, and working on cool stuff.

Posts by Matt Coneybeare

Something wrong with this post? Let us know!